One of my fondest memories of my doctoral program was the ten page, double-spaced final paper. Topic?
Leadership.
That's it.
And as my graduating cohort colleagues and I embarked on that last document and the discussions leading into it, we had all moved beyond the day to day of the details and minutia, for anyone can complete tasks. The deeper delving in emphasized the soft skills that are so much more important than just doing the job.
Its about how you make people feel. Do you listen well and empower others to buy into a common vision? and are you able to make them believe they can achieve what they need to?
Are you heavy on the recognition and deserved praise and softer on the criticism that can divide the team or stunt growth? Focusing on rookie smarts, as Liz Wiseman wrote about, and encouraging others to take risks is a huge skill to use with others, especially leaders around you doing the same types of heavy lifting.
Are you aware of how you make others feel and your impact on others?
All of these points are about leadership....the 'what' of leadership is super important. But the nuances of the 'hows' are much much more.